Week in Review

May 2, 2014
Here is the latest edition of Week In Review - a series of weekly messages from the Mayor and City Council to help Richardson residents and businesses keep up to date on events at City Hall.

Cottonwood Art Festival This Weekend
More than 240 artists will display and sell their work at Richardson’s Cottonwood Art Festival, set for 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday at Cottonwood Park. The bi-annual juried show has been a Richardson tradition for 45 years and features art in 14 categories, including ceramics, photography, mixed media, metalwork and many more. Parking and admission are free, and visitors will have the option of purchasing artwork and food from a variety of vendors on site.
This spring show’s featured artist is Carl Zachmann, a kinetic sculptor from Minnesota. He uses his knowledge or archaeology and engineering to create the types of spokes and gears widely used from before the Civil War to the early 1900s. Learn more at carlzachmann.com.

In addition to showcasing the work of top visual artists, Cottonwood will feature musical performances on a live stage. Performers include Texas Flood, Kites and Boomerangs, Shoot Low Sheriff, The Statesboro Revue and many others.

City Making Final Preparations for Wildflower! Festival
The City is making final preparations for the Wildflower! Arts and Music Festival coming up May 16-18 at Galatyn Park. This year’s headliners include Kool & the Gang, Cheap Trick, Foghat, The Wallflowers, Lonestar and many others.

The festival also includes a variety of food vendors, visual artists, a kids area and street performers. Check out a complete schedule of events at wildflowerfestival.com. New features at this year’s festival include the Blue Cross Blue Shield Gateway entrance, roaming characters from the movie “Boxtrolls” and a Battle of the Bands contest.

Three-day passes are available for $30 through the festival website or at any Metroplex Tom Thumb store through 5:30 p.m. May 16. Richardson residents may purchase discounted adult tickets for $10 per day.

Festival schedule:
Friday, May 16 from 6 p.m. to midnight
Saturday, May 17 from 11 a.m. to midnight
Sunday, May 18 from 12:30 to 8 p.m.

Stay up to date on the latest news by following the festival on Facebook and Twitter or by downloading the Wildflower! mobile app.

Twice-Per-Month Water Restrictions to Continue Through May
The City of Richardson will continue a modified version of Stage 3 water restriction measures through the month of May. The restrictions limit lawn irrigation to twice a month and prohibit watering between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m.

In past years the City has been able to alleviate restrictions during the spring and summer to allow once-per-week watering, but the North Texas Municipal Water District (NTMWD) has given direction to all of its member cities to continue only every-other-week watering due to critical water shortages in its water supply. NTMWD reservoir elevation numbers are significantly lower than this time last year. As of Wednesday, Lavon Lake’s elevation was down 11.7 feet, and Chapman Lake was down 10.8 feet.

The NTMWD, which supplies water to Richardson, has recommended that its member cities restrict watering to once every two weeks because of the ongoing drought and loss of Lake Texoma as a water source due to a zebra mussel infestation. A new pipeline that was built to address the issue should be operational in the coming weeks, but even the addition of that water will not be enough to relieve the concerns over currently low water reservoir levels. NTMWD officials are expected to review drought conditions and discuss future recommendations at a meeting May 22.

Richardson residents are encouraged to help save water by turning off irrigation systems and watering lawns only when needed. Moisture meters are available from the City as part of the Outdoor Water Conservation Kit for $5.

Learn more about the water restrictions at cor.net/waterconservation or through the MyRichardson mobile app, which provides a schedule of specific watering days and the ability to report violations. Watch a City Council work session about the continuation of the modified Stage 3 water restrictions at bit.ly/1m7K0Wf.

CityLine Honored at DBJ Awards
Richardson’s CityLine development was named the year’s top Mixed Use Development Deal at the Dallas Business Journal’s Best Real Estate Deals awards, presented Tuesday. CityLine is southeast of the President George Bush Turnpike and US 75 and will be anchored by State Farm and Raytheon. At full build-out, the $1.5 billion CityLine project will contain approximately 6 million square feet of office space; two hotels; 3,200 multi-family residential units; 300,000 square feet of grocery, restaurant, entertainment and retail space; and three parks.

Collins Center/Associa was a finalist in the Reuse/Rehab Deal of the Year category. After part of the original Collins Radio Campus sat vacant for about 10 years, data center developer Digital Realty and homeowner management association Associa made deals to move to the site.

Richardson Residents Improve Recycling Habits
Richardson residents are doing a better job of recycling the correct items the right way. The City’s latest solid waste contamination report shows 13.1 percent of the city’s recycling was not properly disposed, which is a 1.5 percent drop from September 2013. Contamination occurs when recyclable items are not cleaned out properly or if items placed in the blue bag are not accepted through the City's recycling program, and thus have to be sorted out and sent to the landfill.

The improvement comes as the City has begun to improve outreach to encourage participation and education to recycle.

Learn more about the City's program and see a full list of acceptable items at cor.net/recycling.

Trash Bash Wrap-Up
More than 650 volunteers joined forces Saturday to pick up more than 6,100 pounds of trash and 3,870 pounds of recyclable materials in Richardson parks, schools, creeks and streets during the annual Trash Bash.

At City Hall, the Richardson Citizens Police Academy Alumni Association shredded 30,000 pounds of documents and collected more than 28,000 pounds of electronics. The Friends of the Library collected about 3,000 books, CDs and DVDs through the book drive, and NETWORK of Community Ministries collected 3,000 pounds of clothing. Richardson Environmental Action League gave away 266 rolls of recycling bags, Richardson Public Services gave away 40 cubic yards of compost and the Richardson Health Department gave away 716 plants. New to the Trash Bash this year, the prescription drug take-back event collected more than 1,100 pounds of expired or unwanted medications, making Richardson the top collection site in North Texas last weekend for the medication disposal program.

Summer Camp Registration Continues
Registration is ongoing for the City’s award-winning summer camps, most of which are expected to reach full capacity in June or July. The City offers a Kinder Camp for children age 5 and 6, a Playground Camp and Elementary Camp for ages 7 to 11, and a Teen Camp for ages 12 to 15. All camps have weekly themes and field trips. Summer camps run June 16 to Aug. 8, and weekly rates range from $85 to $130.

The City Council received an overview of the camp program on Monday and approved an ordinance that defines standards of care, a state requirement that outlines staffing ratios, qualifications, safety standards and more. Watch the work session presentation at bit.ly/1iyXcQ1. Register for summer camps at www.cor.net/parksonline.

May Edition of Richardson Today Mailed
The May edition of Richardson Today has been mailed. It focuses on the Wildflower! Festival and includes an event map, schedule and stories about the three-day event. The issue also includes the Parks and Recreation Department Summer Rec Guide.

Richardson Today is mailed to every residence in the city and is also available at Heights and Huffhines recreation centers, the Senior Center, City Hall and the Richardson Public Library. A Richardson Today interactive edition, which includes links to CITV videos, is also accessible at cor.net/richardsontoday. Ask your local mail carrier if you live in the city and do not receive your copy of Richardson Today.

Richardson Fire Department Featured on CBS DFW Morning Show
Whitney Drolen and CBS DFW visited Fire Station No. 4 on Wednesday morning to live broadcast a story about Fire Capt. Stephen Hill several times during the newscast. Hill will be undergoing a bone marrow transplant soon, and his fellow Richardson firefighters are supporting him by shaving their heads in solidarity on Sunday and raising funds to pay for his care.

RISD Board of Trustees Early Voting Continues
Early voting for the May 10 Richardson ISD Board of Trustees Election will continue through Tuesday at the Richardson Civic Center/City Hall, 411 W. Arapaho Rd.

Dallas County Richardson residents may vote early at City Hall or any of the other Dallas County early voting locations. Call the Dallas County Elections Department at 214-819-6389 or visit dallascountyvotes.org. Early voting will take place from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday and Saturday, 1 to 6 p.m. Sunday and 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday and Tuesday.

Voters are reminded that they are required to show a photo ID at the polls. Election Day voting will take place Saturday, May 10, from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. at the location designated for your precinct. Richardson City Hall is not a voting location on Election Day.

Eisemann Center Events This Week
The Eisemann Center will host several events in the next week. Tickets for all shows are available at eisemanncenter.com or by calling 972-744-4650.

The Richardson Symphony Orchestra will perform its Season Finale at 8 p.m. Saturday. The performance will include guest artist Alexander Schimpf on the piano. Tickets cost $10 to $87. Learn more at richardsonsymphony.org.

The Richardson Community Band will present “Just for Fun” at 2 p.m. Sunday. The show will include “The Toy Parade,” “Old MacDonald,” and “Clowns.” Tickets cost $5 to $7. Learn more at richardsoncommunityband.org.

“The Raw Food World” TV Host Coming to Civic Center
Matt Monarch, owner of the largest online raw foods and superfoods store and host of “The Raw Food World,” will speak at the Richardson Civic Center at 6:30 p.m. Monday. The free program will address how raw foods can help with healing, top superfoods and more.

Library Events This Week
The Richardson Public Library will host free events this week in the Basement Program Room.
Celebrate Cinco de Mayo from 7 to 8:30 p.m. Monday with a puppet show, traditional Mexican music and crafts. Learn more by calling 972-744-4358.
Teens in grades 6 to 12 are invited to make unique art at Bookface Me from 6:30 to 8 p.m. Tuesday. For more information, call 972-744-4358.

The cost is $5 for altered pets and $10 for unaltered pets and includes 2014 City registration. Please have dogs leashed and cats contained. For more information, call 972-744-4480.

Richardson Animal Shelter Pet of the Week

Meet Sheba! She's a spayed female, about a year old, pit bull terrier mix, house trained and current on all her vaccinations. She was brought to the Shelter back in February when her owners moved away. Sheba is a playful active dog and would be a great jogging buddy.